Method for effectively implementing a multi-room television system

ABSTRACT

A method for effectively implementing a multi-room television system includes a digital base station that processes and combines various program sources to produce a processed stream. A communications processor then responsively transmits the processed stream as a local composite output stream to various wired and wireless display devices for flexible viewing at variable remote locations. The transmission path performance is used to determine the video encoding process, and special attention is taken to assure that all users have low-latency interactive capabilities.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND PATENT

This Application is a Continuation-in-Part of, and claims priority in,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/809,868, entitled “Apparatus andMethod For Effectively Implementing A Wireless Television System” thatwas filed on Mar. 15, 2001. This Application also claims priority,through U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/809,868, to issued U.S. Pat.No. 6,263,503 B1, entitled “Method For Effectively Implementing AWireless Television System” that was filed on May 26, 1999, and thatissued on Jul. 17, 2001. The foregoing related Application and relatedPatent are commonly assigned, and are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND SECTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to an enhanced televisionsystem, and relates more particularly to a method for effectivelyimplementing a multi-room television system.

2. Description of the Background Art

Developing an effective method for implementing enhanced televisionsystems is a significant consideration for contemporary televisionsystem designers and manufacturers. In conventional television systems,a display device may be utilized to view program information receivedfrom a program source. The conventional display device is typicallypositioned in a stationary location because of restrictions imposed byvarious physical connections that electrically couple the display deviceto all available input devices. Other considerations such as displaysize and display weight may also significantly restrict viewer mobilityin traditional television systems.

Portable television displays may advantageously provide viewers withadditional flexibility when choosing an appropriate viewing location.For example, in a home environment, a portable television may readily berelocated to view programming at various remote locations throughout thehome. A user may thus flexibly view television programming, even whileperforming other tasks in locations that are remote from a stationarydisplay device.

However, portable television systems typically possess certaindetrimental operational characteristics that diminish theireffectiveness for use in modern television systems. For example, inorder to eliminate restrictive physical connections, portabletelevisions typically receive television signals that are propagatedfrom a remote terrestrial television transmitter to an antenna that isintegral with the portable television. Because of the size andpositioning constraints associated with a portable antenna, suchportable televisions typically exhibit relatively poor receptioncharacteristics, and the subsequent display of the transmittedtelevision signals is therefore often of inadequate quality.

Furthermore, a significant proliferation in the number of potentialprogram sources (both live broadcasts and digitally recorded) maybenefit a system user by providing an abundance of program material forselective viewing. For houses with televisions in more than one room ofthe house, each television either needs the necessary hardware toreceive programming from all of the program sources, or requires amethod to share the receiving hardware.

However, because of the substantially increased system complexity,television systems may require additional resources for effectivelymanaging the control and interaction of various system components andfunctionalities. Therefore, for all the foregoing reasons, developing aneffective method for implementing enhanced television systems remains asignificant consideration for designers and manufacturers ofcontemporary television systems.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, a method is disclosed foreffectively implementing a multi-room television system. In oneembodiment, initially, a multi-room television system provides one ormore program sources to a digital base station that selects the programsources for different users in different rooms or locations of themulti-room television system.

If a selected program source contains the requested video data, and doesnot require overlay or inclusion of program guide information, then thedigital base station utilizes a media input subsystem to format theprogram source video data into an appropriate format, processes theformatted data to generate processed data (for example, by transcodingor encoding), and provide the processed program information for use bythe output stream processor.

If the selected program source requires overlay or inclusion of programguide information, then the media input subsystem may first format theprogram source video into a format appropriate for combining programsources. For compressed video data, this formatting may include a fullor partial decode of the video data. The media input subsystem thencombines the formatted program source video information by utilizingappropriate program guide information using some combination of overlay,keying, and 2D graphics operations to produce a new combined videostream. The media input subsystem then processes the combined videostream, and provides the processed program information to an outputstream processor.

Next, the output steam processor combines the processed audio, video,and data into a processed stream. A communications processor thenreceives the processed stream, and responsively performs a networkprocessing procedure to generate a transmitter-ready stream for a wiredor wireless network interface. For a wired network, thetransmitter-ready stream is provided to the appropriate LAN or otherwired interface device for transmission to the desired destination. Fora wireless transmission, a transmitter device receives and modulates thetransmitter-ready stream, and performs a wireless network transmissionprocess to propagate a broadcast stream to a remote TV, a remotecontroller, an auxiliary base station, or any other compatible displayreceiver device.

The communication processor may feed back network information from thevarious wired and wireless network connections to the media inputsubsystem. The media input subsystem uses the network feedbackinformation in order to affect formatting and processing of the videodata. The encoding and transcoding processes may be more effectivelyaccomplished by understanding and utilizing the network feedbackinformation. Additionally, the encoding step may be combined withforward error correction protection in order to prepare thetransmitter-ready stream for channel characteristics of the transmissionchannel. The communications processor may make additional optimizationsin choosing what type of network protocol is used for different elementsof the processed stream.

One or more remote TVs (or any other compatible display receiverdevices) may receive the transmitted stream from the digital basestation. An input subsystem in the remote TVs may then perform a networkprocessing procedure to generate a received stream. In order to separateout the audio, video, and data portions of the transmission, ade-multiplexer separates out the audio and data streams, and performsdata and audio processing while passing along the video processing toone of the other blocks. The remote TV may include a variety of videodecoders including an ATSC decoder for MPEG-2 High Definition Television(HDTV), as well as a decoder capable of decoding one or more differentcompression formats including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1, H.264, vectorquantization, wavelet transform, 3D wavelet transform, or another typeof video compression.

Therefore, for at least the foregoing reasons, the present inventioneffectively implements a flexible multi-room television system thatutilizes various heterogeneous components to facilitate optimal systeminteroperability and functionality. The present invention thuseffectively and efficiently implements an enhanced multi-room televisionsystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for one embodiment of a multi-room televisionsystem, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for one embodiment of a client television ofFIG. 1, in accordance with of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a remote controller for use with the multi-roomtelevision system of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an auxiliary base station for use with themulti-room television system of FIG. 1, in accordance with oneembodiment of present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a media input system from the digital basestation of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment of presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary digital base station, inaccordance with one embodiment of present invention;

FIG. 7 is a dataflow diagram illustrating how subband-encoded videoproceeds through certain processing steps, in accordance with oneembodiment of present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of method steps for performing a local compositingand transmission procedure, in accordance with one embodiment of presentinvention; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of method steps for performing a local receptionprocedure for a remote TV, in accordance with one embodiment of presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION SECTION

The present invention relates to an improvement in television systems.The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skillin the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the contextof a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications tothe preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art and the generic principles herein may be applied to otherembodiments. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limitedto the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and features described herein.

The present invention includes a method for effectively implementing amulti-room television system, and includes a digital base station thatprocesses and combines various program sources to produce a processedstream. A communications processor then responsively transmits theprocessed stream as a local composite stream to various fixed andportable wireless display devices for flexible viewing at variableremote locations. Users at the remote locations may select the programsources for their viewing device, and may request supplemental programinformation, including a program guide, which the digital base stationprovides as part of the local composite stream.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a basic multi-roomtelevision system 110 is shown, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, multi-room televisionsystem 110 includes, but is not limited to, a number of programs sources112, a switcher 138, a digital base station 156, a first wiredtelevision (TV) 150, a second wireless client television (TV) 152, athird wired television (TV) 154, a fourth handheld television (TV) 158,and a remote personal computing station 168. Each of these displaydevices may be capable of different display formats including but notlimited to Standard Definition Television (SDTV) formats, HighDefinition Television (HDTV) formats or other high resolution formationssuch as XGA, SXGA, UXGA, and 1080 Progressive (1080P). In otherembodiments of the present invention, multi-room television system 110may include components or configurations that are different from, or inaddition to, certain of those described in conjunction with the FIG. 1embodiment. One other such system allows remote use of a personalcomputer through the multi-room TV system 110.

In the FIG. 1 embodiment, multi-room television system 110 is configuredfor economical and efficient use in a home environment. However, inalternate embodiments, the present invention may be implemented for usein any appropriate environment. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, programsources 112 comprise a selectable variety of consumer electronicsdevices that may include, but are not limited to, a personal computer114 that communicates with other devices or to a network throughinput/output (I/O) path 116, a digital video disk device or ahigh-definition DVD (DVD/HD-DVD device) 118, a cable system receiver 120that receives a cable TV signal on path 122, a media server/digitalvideo recorder 124 that stores and provides various types of selectableprogramming that may connect to other sources of program content overconnection 128, a game machine 126 that may include network gaming, andmiscellaneous sources. 130. Miscellaneous sources 130 may include anydesired type of program sources, such as local video from a surveillancecamera system or from a video cassette recorder. Satellite systemreceiver 132 receives a satellite dish signal on path 134. The variousprogram sources may also utilize a single device or a multi-band tunerwithin any of the devices. For personal computer 114, the program source112 may be a second graphics output port from the computer, so that aprimary user may use the computer 116 locally and a secondary user mayuse the computer 116 over the multi-room television system 110.

In alternate embodiments of the present invention, program sources 112may be configured to include any other types of program sources ordevices that are different from, or in addition to, certain of thosedescribed in conjunction with the FIG. 1 embodiment. For example,program sources 112 may provide any type of information, includingvideo, audio, or data information that may be formatted in anycompatible or appropriate format. Furthermore, program sources 112 maybe implemented to include information for use in environments other thaneconomical consumer home applications. For example, multi-roomtelevision system 110 may be configured to include program sources 112that are intended for various other uses, including industrial,governmental, or scientific applications.

The present invention also supports various types of supplemental datatransmissions that may be implemented as a separate program source 112,or may alternately be incorporated into another existing program source112. For example, relevant program information and/or program channelguide information 10 may be provided as a program source 112, or may beincorporated into another program source 112. Such program guideinformation may be provided in any suitable manner, including from atelevision broadcast vertical-blanking interval (VBI) signal, from. MPEGsystem data, or from the Internet through a wide-area network (WAN)connection.

In the FIG. 1 embodiment, switcher 138 receives individual programsignals from various program sources 112 via path 136. Switcher 138 thenselects one or more of the program sources 112 as a switcher outputprogram in response to control information typically provided by aviewer of system 110. Switcher 138 provides audio and video informationfrom the switcher output program to TV 154 via path 140. Switcher 138typically receives either analog signals or decoded digital signals fromthe various program sources. For video, these signals may includecomposite video, component video, S-Video, DVI, or HDMI.

In accordance with the present invention, switcher 138 also provides oneor more program sources 112 to digital base station 156 through analogpath 142 or through digital path 144. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, digitalbase station 156 is implemented as a discrete component in system 110.However, in alternate embodiments, digital base station 156 may beimplemented as part of a set-top box (not shown) or any other componentin system 110.

In addition, digital base station 156 may receive program sources 112directly through digital paths 146. Digital paths 146 may includeuncompressed program source information in the format of DVI, HDMI orother format. Alternately, digital path 146 may include compressedprogram source information in the form of MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1, H.264, orany other format used by one of the program sources 112. Each of theseprogram sources 112 may include various types of data, as well asincluding conditional access protection to the program source thatrequires additional authentication of the signal before viewing.

In accordance with the present invention, digital base station 156processes the received program source(s) 112, and transmits theprocessed program source(s) 112 as a local composite stream usingvarious wired connections 160 and 162, or using wireless connections 164from digital base station 156. Television 152 with connections 170,handheld television 158 with connections 172, remote video appliance 166with connections 174, and remote personal computing station 168 withconnections 176, are each configured for flexible remote viewing by asystem user. The implementation and functionality of digital basestation 156 and the various televisions of system 110 are furtherdiscussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 2 through 9.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of the FIG. 1 client television152 is shown, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The FIG. 1 embodiment may also be utilized to implementcertain other display devices in system 110. In the FIG. 2 embodiment,client television 152 includes, but is not limited to, a path to adisplay screen 212 and a variety of inputs which may include somecombination of the following: an antenna unit 240 with wireless RFreceiver 214; a coax cable 244 with coax receiver 216; a wired LANconnection 242 with a LAN processor 218, one or more high speed digitalconnections 246 with their associated processing 220 (which may include1394 and USB receivers); HDMI 248 with HDMI receiver 256; and analogvideo inputs 250 with analog receiver 222.

Wireless RF receiver 214 is capable of receiving and processing avariety of wireless protocols including 802.11a, b, g, n, s, andderivatives, as well as a variety of Ultra Wide Band (UWB) versions.Antenna 240 may include one or more antennas, and combined with thewireless RF receiver 214, may use sophisticated techniques such asantenna diversity, multi-phase, Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO), andother related techniques. Path 258 provides a way for the RF receiver toutilize the LAN processor if such resource sharing is desired.

The coax receiver 216 may be capable of supporting a variety of analogand digital protocols. The digital protocols may include Multimedia overCoax Alliance (MoCA), Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC)8-VSB modulation, Open Cable Network Interface (OCI-N) or a coaximplementation of 1394, HDMI or a similar derivative. In order toseparate the audio, video and data portions of the transmission, a demuxwith audio and data decoder 256 is the first processing block to receivethe data. This block 256 performs the data and audio processing whilepassing along the video processing to one of the other blocks.

In the FIG. 2 embodiment, client TV 152 may include a separate ATSCdecoder 226 capable of supporting High Definition Television (HDTV)including a conditional access 228 security module which is utilized foruse of protected content. This conditional access may be of the form ofa POD where some type of secure card is used, or the system may usesoftware or network based keys that do not require a card. When thedigital program stream is in a format other than the MPEG-2 specifiedfor the ATSC HDTV specification, the advanced decoder 254 willdecompress the video and the display processor 224 will provide thevideo for display screen 212.

Advanced decoder 254 is capable of decoding one or more differentcompression formats including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1, H.264, vectorquantization, wavelet transform, 3D wavelet transform, or another typeof video compression. In one embodiment of the system 110, the digitalbase station 156 (FIG. 1) converts all of the different formats of videointo a unified video format so that the advanced decoder 254 only needsto perform one type of decoding. Additional discussion regarding the useof wavelet and 3D wavelet transform CODECs in such an optimized system110 is presented below in conjunction with FIG. 7.

The coax receiver 216 may rely on the LAN processor 218 for additionalprocessing and provide the demodulated information over path 252. LANProcessor 218 may also connect to the LAN over path 242 and may useCategory 5 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or another type of cable.Protocols may include 10/100 Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 1394C, or someother form of Residential Ethernet. Coax receiver 216 may also supportthe standard ATSC specification for receiving compressed bit streams.

Referring again to FIG. 1, remote personal computing station 168 isanother type of client. In one embodiment, the remote user is able tofully control, or multiple users may share in a multi-user manner, apersonal computer 114 from the remote locations. Instead of justselecting and controlling a program source 112, remote personalcomputing station 168 may also include specific controls formanipulating personal computer 114 via a remote keyboard and remotemouse. The multi-room television system 110 is able to transmit thekeyboard and mouse commands from the remote personal computing station168 over one of the network interfaces 176 to personal computer 114, andmay then transmit the display from personal computer 116 through digitalbase station 156 for display at remote personal computing station 168.In another embodiment, a remote gaming station using a joystick or gamepad instead of a keyboard and mouse may operate in a similar manner.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a diagram is shown of a remote controller 310for use as one example of the handheld television 158 in the FIG. 1multi-room television system 110, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. In the FIG. 3 embodiment, remote controller 310is a hand-held device that includes, but is not limited to, a remotecontroller screen 314, remote controls 312, a radio-frequencytransmitter/receiver (RF XMIT/RCVR) 318, and an infraredtransmitter/receiver (IR XMIT/RCVR) 316.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, remote controls 312 may be used by a viewer tocontrol various components and operating parameters of multi-roomtelevision system 110. For example, remote controls 312 may be used tocontrol the operation of other components and subsystems in system 110through a wireless transmission process using either RF XMIT/RCVR 318 orIR XMIT/RCVR 316.

Remote controller screen 314 includes display components that may beimplemented using any appropriate and compatible display technology.Remote controller 310 may thus receive a local composite stream fromdigital base station 156 through RF XMIT/RCVR 318316, and responsivelydisplay at least one selectable program source 112 on remote controllerscreen 314.

In one embodiment, remote controller screen 314 may thereby allow systemusers to preview various different selectable program sources 112 whilesimultaneously viewing an uninterrupted primary program source 112 onprimary TV 150 or on remote TV 152. In the foregoing preview function,remote controller screen 314 may receive a wireless transmissionoriginating from a separate picture-in-picture (PIP) tuner in multi-roomtelevision system 110. The preview function may therefore be utilizedfor functions like programming program sources 112 or previewing otherchannels without interrupting other concurrent program viewingactivities.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of an auxiliary base station410 for use with the FIG. 1 multi-room television system 110 is shown,in accordance with one embodiment of present invention. In the FIG. 4embodiment, auxiliary base station 410 includes, but is not limited to,a radio-frequency (RF) repeater 414, a remote TV connection 412, and analternating current/direct current (AC/DC) converter 418. In alternateembodiments, auxiliary base station 410 may readily be implemented toinclude various other components that are different from, or in additionto, certain of those discussed in conjunction with the FIG. 4embodiment.

In the FIG. 4 embodiment, RF repeater 414 provides an enhancedtransmission of one or more program sources 112 to remote TV 158 orremote controller 310 to thereby advantageously improve transmissionquality in situations where remote TV 158 or remote controller 310cannot receive adequate wireless transmissions directly from digitalbase station 156. For example, various factors such as wall density andcomposition, or physical distances from digital base station 156 maysignificantly deteriorate transmission strength and quality.

In accordance with the present invention, RF repeater 414 may thenreceive and enhance a local composite stream that is transmitteddirectly from digital base station 156 using radio-frequencytransmission techniques. In such an RF repeating implementation, RFrepeater 414 may act as a mesh network agent or conform to the 802.11sstandard. Alternately, RF repeater 414 may receive and enhance programsource transmissions and transport various types of control informationprovided over a hard-wired home network (wired local-area network (LAN)416) that may be implemented using any suitable techniques andconfigurations.

In certain embodiments, multi-room television system 110 may includemultiple auxiliary base stations 410 that each operate on a differenttransmission subchannel. In accordance with the present invention,remote TV 158 (FIG. 1) or remote controller 310 (FIG. 3) may thereforesearch to locate a particular subchannel that provides the highestquality transmission signal, and then transparently switch to thecorresponding auxiliary base station 410 for optimal wirelesstransmission.

In the FIG. 4 embodiment, a system user may store handheld TV 158 onauxiliary base station 410 by connecting handheld TV 158 to remote TVconnection 412. Further more, AC/DC converter 418 may provide operatingpower to RF repeater 414, and may also recharge batteries in handheld TV158 through remote TV connection 412.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a media input subsystem 512 from the FIG. 1digital base station 156 is shown, in accordance with one embodiment ofpresent invention. In the FIG. 5 embodiment, digital base station 156includes, but is not limited to, one or more media input subsystems 512.In the FIG. 5 embodiment, media input subsystem 512 receives variousinput signals that may include analog video on path 514, analog audio onpath 528, uncompressed digital audio/video (AN) data on path 532, andcompressed digital audio/video (CDAV) 536. In alternate embodiments,media input subsystem 512 may receive any other types of appropriate andcompatible input signals including various control signals 516. Thecontrol signals 516 are utilized by the subsystem control 518 to controleach of the various processing steps of media input subsystem 512(connections to subsystem control not shown). Additional connections areavailable over Universal Serial Bus (USB) 562.

In accordance with the present invention, media input subsystem control518 receives various types of information from program sources 112(FIG. 1) that may be encoded using an extensive variety of formats andconfigurations. Media input subsystem control 518 then processes andmanipulates the received program sources 112 to advantageously generateprocessed program information in a particular format that is compatiblefor downstream transmission by a communications processor 636 (FIG. 6)for display at one of the various FIG. 1 televisions 150, 152, 158,remote video appliance 166, or at the remote personal computing station168.

In the case of analog video information, digitizer 530 converts theanalog video into digital video that is relayed to the input streamprocessor 530. In the case of analog audio information,analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 516 converts analog audio on path 528into digital audio that audio processor 534 then receives via inputstream processor 530. In one embodiment of the present invention, audioprocessor 534 includes conversions to and from various MPEG and PCM(pulse code modulation) techniques and processes. Following theforegoing audio signal processing procedures, audio processor 534provides the processed audio to output stream processor 524.

Input stream processor 530 receives the digitized video from digitizer530, digitized audio from the audio Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)516, digital audio and video on path 532, and compressed digital audioand video on path 536. Examples of uncompressed digital video on path532 are HDMI, DVI, DVO and SDVO. Standards suitable for compressed videodata on path 536 may include 1394A, 1394B, 1394C, or other similarbuses. USB 562 is another bus that may carry compressed audio and videodata. Each of the inputs may include information in addition to theaudio and video information (such as various supplemental data andadditional stream information). One of the functions of input streamprocessor 530 is to separate the audio, video, and data portions of thevarious inputs, and then send the audio information to the audioprocessor 534, send the video information to the video processor 538,and add supplemental data and digital rights management (DRM)information to the Data and Digital Rights Management (DDRM) processor552. Input stream processor 530 also receives information from thesubsystem control 518 which may include various controls related to thethree types of processing that may also require additional processingsteps. For example, subsystem control 518 may indicate to the inputstream processor 530 the different types of window management anddisplay functions that are then provided as part of the video processor538.

Video processor 538 performs many functions relating to processing ofthe input video stream. These functions may be performed in a variety ofways including methods of a digital signal processor, a media-processor,a general purpose processor, a graphics processor, fixed functionprocessing blocks, or any combination of the foregoing. In addition tothe processing blocks, various memory stores are required, eitherseparate or in aggregate to the various processing blocks. The unitsshown in FIG. 5 are functional descriptions of some of the various typesof functions that are possible, but not required, in one version ofvideo processor 538.

Various compression and decompression (CODEC) methods and standardsexist for video that may be lossless or lossy. Discrete Cosign Transform(DCT) based CODECs include MPEG, MPEG-2, H.323, MPEG-4, WM9, VC1, AVC,AVS and other similar standards. Wavelet transforms are another type ofCODEC, and JPEG2000 is an example of a wavelet based CODEC. Variousforms of each CODEC may be either spatial, where the compression occurswithin a frame of video, or temporal, where compression occurs betweenframes (also referred to as 3D processing where the third dimension istime). DCT based CODECs typically operate on a group of pictures (GOP),but also operate on a single index frame (I-Frame). DCT based CODECstypically operate on a fixed size block of pixels, whereas wavelet basedCODECs can operate on more flexible basis. There are numerous trade-offsof computational complexity, latency, compression ratio, video quality,memory requirements and compatibility issues based on the CODECarchitecture. Other CODECs based on run length encoding (RLE), HuffmanCodes, Vector Quantization (VQ), JPEG and Motion JPEG can be utilized bythe system.

In addition to supporting various standard implementations of thedifferent CODECs, because system 110 relates to video and displays, itis useful, where possible, for the wavelet based CODECs to operate on ascan line or groups of scan lines basis rather than on an entire frame.By operating on a scan line, or group of scan lines, the wavelet CODECcan start transmission of the first portion of the video frame whileadditional portions of the video frame are still being compressed.Whereas DCT based CODECs often use a more complex method of temporalcompression in which the decompression utilizes information from priorand future frames of video, it is better for a low latency 3D waveletencoder to only use display information from prior frames of video thatare already available to the decoder when operating on a current frameof video. By using such a 3D wavelet encoder, groups of scan lines thathave changed can be compressed as they pass through the encoder. Whenscan lines, or groups of scan lines have not changed, the encoder canindicate to the decoder to use the data from the prior frame. Otherprecinct based methods that do not require a full frame can be usedwhere a precinct is defined as a group of blocks that can be compressedwithout causing edge artifacts where the precincts are joined.

The wavelet based transform has additional properties that are usefulfor system 110. For example, one type of wavelet transforms decomposeseach frame into several subbands which are versions of the frame inwhich the image of the frame is filtered and scaled to a different size.This pyramidal scheme of having different resolutions of the same imageis used by system 110 for optimizing the subband coding along withinformation about the transmission channel and the target displaycharacteristics. Additional discussion of the foregoing techniques arediscussed below in conjunction with FIG. 7.

The decompression 540 function is used to decompress video inputs thatare received from one of the program sources 112. By decompressing thevideo, the video is converted into the spatial domain so that each frameof video can be operated on more easily. The decompression unit 540 istypically able to operate on the types of video compression used by thevarious program sources 112, and may include MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1, H.264,DIVX, or another type of video. The compression 542 function is used tocompress otherwise uncompressed video into a video format for use by theoutput stream processor 524. The formats supported by the compression542 function are those useful to multi-room TV system 110. Compressionformats supported may include MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1, H.264, VQ, wavelettransform, 3D wavelet transform, or another type of video compression.Wavelet transform coding may be closely related to subband coding andthe associative filter design. As such, the wavelet transform caninclude a multi-resolution decomposition in a pyramidal scheme. It isalso possible to compress the different subbands using different codingtechniques.

The trans-rate and trans-code 544 function (trans rate/code) is used toconvert the bit rate within a given video compression format, or totranslate the video compression format used from one of the inputcompression formats to one of the output compression formats withoutnecessarily requiring a full decode and encode. It is sometimesadvantageous to avoid a full decode and encode because that may requiremore processing power or may result in lower quality video. The formatsfor trans-coding may include those listed above with respect to thecompression function 542. The trans-rate function to change the bit ratewithin a compression format is useful for matching the bit rate to thesubsequent downstream network interface that is discussed below.

The image processor 550 function performs various image manipulations onthe input video stream. Such operations may include video format andframe rate conversion in order to optimize the format and display ratefor-the system. Image processor 550, for example, may modify theresolution of a 720 Progressive High Definition input video, and convertit to 480 progressive for a display device that is not capable ofsupporting full 720 progressive. Another function may include otherimage enhancement operations.

The graphics processor 546 function is used to perform graphics userinterface drawing and produce the on-screen display graphics for suchfunctions as providing on-screen program guides. The graphics processor546 functions may include 2D graphics operations, 3D graphicsoperations, and special graphics operations performed on the video data.In one example, the graphics processor 546 produces an overlay ofprogram guide information. Such an overlay is then combined with thevideo frames by the display/overlay processor 548 to produce a frame ofcombined graphics and video. In combining the graphics and video, thedisplay/overlay processor 548 may perform functions such as alphablending, scaling the video into a window, color/chroma keying of thevideo onto the graphics or the graphics onto the video, or any othernumber of functions to combine graphics and video data.

As discussed above, the digital base station 156 (FIG. 1) may includemore than one media input subsystem 512. In some cases, thedisplay/overlay processor 548 may perform the function of combininggraphics and video for video streams processed by other media inputsubsystems 512. Various combinations of picture-in-picture and othercombinations of more than one simultaneous video may thus be supported.Additional functions such as wipes and fades between multiple videos andbetween video and graphics may also be performed to improve the overallcapability of the system.

As an example of the overall function of video processor 538, thecompressed format of a program source 112 may be optimized for serviceprovider network transmission, and may not be the type of compressionformat that is most useful in the local multi-room system 110. Asatellite broadcast may utilize H.264 video compression format becauseit provides a very low bandwidth solution and a high definition videosignal can be transmitted in less then 10 million bits per second. Formulti-room TV system 110, the local network bandwidth may besubstantially higher than the 10 million bits per second. Additionally,the digital base station 156 may require that graphical data be visuallycombined with the network's broadcast video stream, where the control ofthe graphics data is being performed from a television display 152 thatis not in the same room as the digital base station 156. For such anexample, the input video stream may be processed by decompression 540function, then the decompressed video may be combined with the output ofthe graphics processor 546, and the display/overlay processor 548 mayperform the final compositing of each frame. Each composite frame maythen be processed by the compression 542 function by performing awavelet transform. Though the wavelet transformed video data may be onthe order of 100 million bits per second, the user of television 152experiences very responsive controls for navigation of the graphicaldisplay and control of the video because the wavelet transforms, or the3D wavelet transform, has very low latency.

Data and Digital Rights Management (DDRM) processor 552 performs variousfunctions, including performing appropriate Digital Rights Management(DRM) so that protected premium programming provided by a serviceprovider can be securely used within the home environment with one ormore of the TVs. Authentication for the service provider may includesmart cards or other methods of key based encryption systems. The DDRMprocessor 552 may include the ability to generate keys for when keyexchange is used as part of the security protocol. The DDRM processor552 may also follow the requirements specified in the Digital LivingNetwork Alliance (DLNA) specification. Other data operations may includeprocessing auxiliary data information that was included with the programsource 112.

Different interfaces may have different variations of DRM schemesassociated with them. Broadcast TV may include flags that indicatewhether a program can be copied. HDMI may include the high definitioncopy protection (HDCP) protocol to indicate the access rights for highdefinition content. The 1394 bus may include DTCP as the protectionprotocol. DDRM processor 552 is responsible for preserving the intendedprotections of the input scheme while still allowing the content to bedistributed over one of the network interfaces or output. via theformatter 526 and path 556 to a television device.

Output stream processor 524 performs the reassembly of the audio, videoand data to produce an output stream that is to be used by thecommunications processor 636 (FIG. 6) via path 522. The processed videocan also be formatted by the display formatter 526, and output over awired bus 556 suitable for direct connection to a television input.

The path 553 between the output stream processor 524 and the videoprocessor 538 is a two-way path. Video-processor 538 may thus receiveinformation from the downstream communications processor 636 (FIG. 6) aswell as the RF XMIT/RCVR 640. By understanding the type of communicationchannel that will be used by system 110 to transmit video information,the parameters of the video encoding may be adjusted accordingly. Theforegoing techniques are further discussed below in conjunction withFIGS. 7 and 8.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a block diagram of an exemplary digital basestation 156 includes, but is not limited to, a media input subsystem512, an infrared transmitter/receiver (IR XMIT/RCVR) 644, one or morelocal-area network (LAN) interfaces 652 and 674, a communicationsprocessor 636, a RF transmit and receive subsystem 640, an antenna 664,and a network audio/video interface 656. In alternate embodiments,digital base station 156 may be implemented to include variouscomponents that are different from, or in addition to, certain of thosediscussed in conjunction with the FIG. 6 embodiment.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, media input subsystem 512 may receive variousselectable program signals from any appropriate source, includingprogram sources 112 (FIG. 1). Media input subsystem 512 thenresponsively processes and manipulates the received program signals togenerate a processed output stream on path 522, to be used by thecommunications processor 636. In response, communications processor 636performs a network processing procedure on the processed stream togenerate a transmitter-ready stream to radio-frequencytransmitter/receiver (RF XMIT/RCVR) 640 via path 638. Communicationsprocessor 636 performs the foregoing network processing procedure inresponse to relevant characteristics of multi-room television system110. For example, the network processing procedure may depend on variousfactors such as the particular wireless transmission techniques utilizedfor effective wireless transmission, or the type of bus arbitrationrequired for the various LAN or Network Audio/Video interfaces.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, RF XMIT/RCVR 640 may then manipulate (forexample, up-convert and modulate) the transmitter-ready stream toadvantageously generate and transmit a local composite stream throughpath 662 and antenna 664 to remote TV 158, remote controller 310,auxiliary base station 410, or other appropriate devices, in accordancewith the present invention. In the FIG. 6 embodiment, RF XMIT/RCVR 640may be implemented to include any desired types of effectiveup-conversion, modulation, or other wireless transmission techniques,including a variety of wireless standards that may be supportedincluding 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or one of the UWBstandards. When using UWB, 1394 and USB protocols can be supportedwirelessly with the Wireless 1394 and Wireless USB industry efforts.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, digital base station 156 may communicate withvarious wide-area networks (such as the Internet) via LAN interface 652.For example, media input subsystem 512 may access digital AN data fromthe Internet via path 650, LAN interface 652, path 654, communicationsprocessor 636, and path 522. Media input subsystem 512 may then processthe Internet AN data, and subsequently provide the processed Internet ANdata through path 522 to communications processor 636 for wirelesstransmission by RF XMIT/RCVR 640, as discussed above. Similarly, Mediainput subsystem 512 may process on of the program sources 112 andperform a type of compression for distribution of the processed streamover the internet to a distant client.

In accordance with the present invention, communications processor 636may also provide the transmitter-ready stream to RF repeater 414 inauxiliary base station 410 via path 654, LAN interface 652, and path650, as discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 4. In some systems (forexample a MoCA based system), the LAN connection 650 may be physicallythe same as the coax TV interface 564. In another system, such as a homenetwork using standard phone line or power lines, a second LANconnection 672 may be controlled by LAN interface 674. In anotherembodiment, LAN interface 674 may control multiple physical interfaces(not shown) such as Ethernet over CAT5 UTP cable, Ethernet over PowerLine, Ethernet over phone line and Ethernet over Coax.

Communications processor 636 may also control a network audio/videointerface 658 which may connect to a variety of physical connections 656such as CAT5 cable or enhanced versions of UTP cable such as CAT5e orCAT6. Additional physical connections may use COAX cable, 1394 cable, orHDMI cable. In one example, network audio/video interface 658 supportsmodulating MPEG-2 data onto a COAX cable at connection 656 where themodulation is compatible with the ATSC standard for HDTV transmission.Such an implementation would allow any standard HDTV to receive anddecode such a transmission.

In another example, the network audio/video interface 658 is designed tooperate with streaming data, and may be less data-oriented than typicalEthernet based standards. One such example is 1394C which uses 1394protocol over CAT5 wiring. Other efforts to run protocols similar to DVIand HDMI over UTP cable and over coax cable may also be supported.Another implementation can use the UDP transport scheme of Ethernet andinclude a light method of handshaking the packet transmissions and fastmanagement as to which, if any, packets need to be retransmitted in caseof error. This has the benefits of a TCP/IP approach without theoverhead of the full TCP/IP protocol and can be applied to wired orwireless IP networks.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, handheld TV 158 or remote controller 310 mayadvantageously transmit wireless radio-frequency control information tomedia input subsystem processor 512 through antenna 664, RF XMIT/RCVR640, and communications processor 636. In response, media inputsubsystem 512 may function as a master controller to utilize thereceived wireless radio-frequency control information for controllingvarious components and functionalities in multi-room television system110. Media input subsystem 512 may use the received RF controlinformation in any suitable manner. For example, media input subsystem512 may control appropriate system components either by hard-wiredconnections, by utilizing control bus 516, or by transmitting thecontrol information through path 642 and infrared transmitter/receiver(IR XMIT/RCVR) 644. In an additional mode, media input subsystem 512 maycontrol various other components in system 110 via communicationsprocessor 636 and the LAN interface 652 where other devices on the LAN650 conform to the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol.

In accordance with the present invention, media input subsystem 512 mayalso utilize IR XMIT/RCVR 644 and RF XMIT/RCVR 640 to monitor allremotely-generated system control signals. Media input subsystem 512 maythen responsively maintain corresponding system component statusinformation to facilitate intelligent system control interaction inmulti-room television system 110. For example, a system user in aviewing location that is remote from program sources 112 may wish toview the program guide information on remote TV 152 from a satelliteservice provider. Media input subsystem 512 may generate the appropriatesignals to the program source to make available the program guideinformation, and may then transmit the program guide information in thedesired format, either alone or combined with the video program source,to the remote TV 152. In another embodiment, an IR input 246 may beimplemented as part of remote TV 152. The IR commands are translated bythe other interface 220 controls and sent to the media input subsystemprocessor 512 via the LAN 242, RF 240, or another connection.

In accordance with the present invention, media input subsystem 512 mayalso communicate with compatible components throughout multi-roomtelevision system 110 using a control bus 516. In the FIG. 6 embodiment,control bus 516 may be implemented using any compatible configurationand/or protocol. For example, control bus 516 may be effectivelyimplemented in accordance with a control bus standard, and may alsoutilize various signaling protocols and techniques in compliance withDigital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) or Home Audio-Video HomeInteroperability (HAVI) standard.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a dataflow diagram illustrating a process 710for converting from a frame of video through to the FIG. 6 communicationprocessor 636 is shown. The first step is for each component of thevideo data to be decomposed via subband encoding into a multi-resolutionrepresentation. A quad-tree-type decomposition for the luminancecomponent Y is shown in block 712, for the first chrominance component Uin 714, and for the second chrominance component V in 716. Thequad-tree-type decomposition splits each component into four subbands,where the first subband is represented by 718 h, 718 d, and 718 v, withthe foregoing “h”, “d” and “v” respectively denoting “horizontal”,“diagonal”, and “vertical”. The second subband, which is one half theresolution of the first subband in both the horizontal and verticaldirection, is represented by 720 h, 720 d, and 720 v. The third subbandis represented by 722 h, 722 d, and 722 v, and the fourth subband isrepresented by box 724.

Forward Error Correction (FEC) is one exemplary method for improving theerror resilience of the transmitted bitstream. FEC includes the processof adding additional redundant bits of information to the base bits, sothat if some of the bits are lost or corrupted, a complete or nearlycomplete representation of the frame can be reconstructed by the decodersystem. The more bits of redundant information that are added during theFEC step, the more strongly protected and the more resilient to errorsthe bit stream becomes. In the case of wavelet encoded video, the lowestresolution subbands of the video frame may have the most image energy,and may be protected with more FEC redundancy bits than the higherresolution subbands of the frame.

The different subbands for each component are passed to the encodingstep via path 702. The encoding step is performed for each subband byencoding with FEC performed on the first subband 736, on the secondsubband 734, on the third subband 732, and on the fourth subband 730.Depending on the type of encoding performed, there are various othersteps applied to the data prior to, or as part of, the encoding process.These steps may include filtering or differencing between the subbands.Encoding the differences between the subbands is one of the steps of atype of compression. For typical images, most of the image energyresides in the lower resolution representations of the image. The otherbands contain higher frequency detail that is used to enhance thequality of the image. The encoding steps for each of the subbands uses amethod and bitrate most suitable for the amount of visual detail that iscontained in that subimage.

There are also other scalable coding techniques that may be used totransmit the various image subbands across different communicationchannels in which the communication channels have different transmissioncharacteristics. This technique may be used to match higher prioritysource subbands with the higher quality transmission channels. Thissource based coding may be used where the base video layer istransmitted in a heavily protected manner and the upper layers areprotected less or not at all. This technique can lead to good overallperformance for error concealment and will allow for gracefuldegradation of the image quality. Another technique of error resiliententropy coding (EREC) may also be used for high resilience totransmission errors.

In addition to dependence on subimage visual detail, the type ofencoding and the strength of the FEC is dependent on transmissionchannel error characteristics. Transmission channel feedback 740 is fedto the communications processor 744 which then feeds back theinformation to each of the subband encoding blocks via path 742. Each ofthe subband encoders transmits the encoded subimage information to, thecommunications processor 744. Communications processor 744 thentransmits the compressed streams to the target transmission subsystemvia path 750.

As an extension to the described 2-D subband coding, 3-D subband codingmay also be used. For 3-D subband coding, the subsampled component videosignals are decomposed into video components ranging from low spatialand temporal resolution components to components with higher frequencydetails. These components are encoded independently using a methodappropriate for preserving the image energy contained in each of thecomponents. The compression is also performed independently throughquantizing the various components and entropy coding of the quantizedvalues. The decoding step is able to reconstruct the appropriate videoimage by recovering and combining the various image components. Thepsycho-visual properties of the video image are preserved throughencoding and decoding of the video. Advanced 3D methods such as applyingmore sophisticated motion coding techniques, image synthesis, or objectbased coding are also-methods to improve the image quality for a givenbitrate or reduce the bitrate for a given quality.

Additional optimizations with respect to the transmission protocol arealso possible. For example, in one type of system, there can be packetsthat are retransmitted if errors occur, and there may be packets thatare not retransmitted regardless of errors. There are also variousthreshold-of-error rates that may be set to determine whether packetsneed to be resent. By managing the FEC allocation, along with the packettransmission protocol with respect to the different subbands of theframe, the transmission process may be optimized to assure that thedecoded video has the highest possible quality. For example, an Ethernetnetwork could use various forms of UDP, UDP with handshaking and TCP/IPtransmissions to assure that the packets are appropriately prioritizedand only retransmitted if it is necessary. Some transmission protocolshave additional channel coding that may be managed independently orcombined with the encoding steps.

System level optimizations that specifically combine subband encodingwith the UWB protocol are also possible. In one embodiment, the subbandwith the most image energy utilizes the higher priority hard reservationscheme for the medium access control (MAC) protocol. Additionally, thelow order band groups of the UWB spectrum that typically have higherrange may be used for the higher image energy subbands. In this case,even if a portable TV were out of range of the UWB high order bandgroups, the receiver would still receive the UWB low order band groupsand would be able to display a moderate or low resolution representationof the original video.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flowchart of method steps for performing amulti-room transmission procedure is shown, in accordance with oneembodiment of present invention. In the FIG. 8 embodiment, in step 810,multi-room television system 110 initially provides one or more programsources 112 to digital base station 156. In step 812, input streamprocessor 530 differentiates various types of program sources 112depending on whether the program source(s) 112 include any combinationof data, video, or audio information. The FIG. 8 flow chart does notspecifically recite the conversion of analog inputs to digital, thoughanother embodiment may include those steps.

If a program source 112 includes data, then, in step 824, DDRM processor552 formats, and in step 826, processes the digital data into anappropriate format. This data processing may relate to program guideinformation, or may relate to a DRM scheme used by the broadcast. If aprogram source 112 includes audio data, then in step 820, the audio datais formatted, and in step 822, the audio data is processed by the audioprocessor 534.

If a program source 112 includes video, then in step 814, the videoprocessor 538 appropriately formats the video, and then processes thevideo in step 816. The format video step 814 and process video step 816may include various combinations of decompression, compression,trans-coding, trans-rating, and image processing. The video frames maythen be combined either with data from step 826, or with data generatedwithin step 814 and step 816, to generate an output video stream thatmay also include graphics information and may be processed by thedisplay/overlay processor 548 prior to the compression. Step 818 furthercombines the data, video and audio into a combined output stream via theoutput stream processor 524. Step 828 performs network processing viacommunications processor 636.

In step 830, multi-room TV system 110 monitors network transmissionsprior to providing the output stream to step 832 for the final networktransmission function to one of the output paths. The monitoring networkstep 830 may also be used to feedback network information to step 816for the processing of the video, and to step 828 for performing thenetwork processing. This feedback via path 834 is useful for adaptingthe type of video processing performed by video processor 538 to bestmatch the video output stream to the characteristics of the transmissionchannel. One such example of adapting video encoding to the transmissionchannel is the multi-band wavelet encoding described above inconjunction with FIG. 7. In addition, communications processor 636 mayuse the transmission channel information from network monitor step 830to modify the type of transmission process performed on the data.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flowchart of method steps for performing anetwork reception procedure is shown, in accordance with one embodimentof present invention. For reasons of clarity, the FIG. 2 networkreception procedure is discussed in reference to remote TV 158 whichreceives the data via wireless networking. However, network receptionover a wired network to remote TV 152, remote controller 310, auxiliarybase station 410, or any other compatible receiver device is equallycontemplated for use in conjunction with the present invention.

In the FIG. 9 embodiment, initially, in step 912, remote TV 158 receivesa local composite stream from digital base station 156. Then in step914, RF receiver 214 performs a wireless network processing procedure togenerate a baseband stream or one of the other inputs of FIG. 2 receivesa network transmission. The foregoing wireless network processingprocedure may include various appropriate techniques, such asdemodulation and down-conversion of the local composite streampropagated from digital base station 156. The other network inputsprocessing blocks, including Coax Receiver 216 and LAN Processor 218perform the appropriate network reception.

In step 916, remote TV 158 receives and demultiplexes the basebandstream into separate components which may include separate data, video,and audio information. If the baseband stream includes data information,then in step 918, demux with audio and data decoder 256 manipulates thedata information into an appropriate format to generate manipulateddata, and the FIG. 9 process advances to step 922. Similarly, if thebaseband stream includes video information, then in step 920, advanceddecoder 254 decompresses the video information to generate decompressedvideo, and the FIG. 9 process advances to step 922.

In addition, if the baseband stream includes audio information, then instep 926, demux with audio and data decoder 256 first decompresses theaudio information to generate decompressed audio, which is then used instep 928 to reproduce the audio output.

In step 922, display processor 224 may access the manipulated data (step918) and the decompressed video (step 920), and may perform an optionallocal graphical user interface (GUI) processing procedure to generatedisplay data and display video for presentation on remote TV 158. Anexample of optional local GUI processing is using an on-screen displayfor the volume, tint, or other setup functions that apply specificallyto local remote TV 158, and not to the program source 112. Finally, instep 924, display processor 224 provides the display data and thedisplay video to remote TV screen 212 for viewing by a user of themulti-room television system 110.

In one embodiment, an important distinction of local GUI functions andprogram source related functions is made. The user of the multi-roomtelevision system 110 affects the user interface on TV screen 212 bycontrol of the graphics processor 546 which is part of the media inputsubsystem processor 512. In the case of program source 112 selection andperforming on-screen display navigation, the graphics processor 546 andthe display/overlay processor 548 combine the video and on-screendisplay information prior to the compression 542 function. In thismethod, the network stream that is produced and transmitted in step 832already includes display-ready video, so when advanced decoder 254performs the decompress video step 920, the display information isalready ready for the display processor 224 without the need for thelocal step 922 of performing GUI processing. Local GUI processing instep 922 is performed local to the display device by display processor224, not by the media input subsystem processor 512.

The present invention therefore implements a flexible multi-roomtelevision system that a user may effectively utilize in a wide varietyof applications. For example, a video camera device may generate awireless transmission to remote TV 158 for purposes such as surveillanceand monitoring, or the transmission may be received by digital basestation 156, and the transmission stored on a connected storage device

In addition, a viewer may flexibly utilize multi-room television system110 for displaying information from a home computer (such as viewing apersonal recipe collection while cooking), for displaying various userprofiles (such as a particular viewer's favorite television channels),or for sequencing through images in a “picture frame” mode when remoteTV 158 is not otherwise in use. Therefore, the present inventioneffectively implements a flexible multi-room television system 110 thatutilizes various heterogeneous components to facilitate optimal systeminteroperability and functionality. In addition, a user over theInternet may control program selection and view any of the programsources while controlling the digital base station from a remotelocation, thus extending the system from multi-room to multi-location.

The invention has been explained above with reference to a preferredembodiment. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of this disclosure. For example, the present invention mayreadily be implemented using configurations other than those describedin the preferred embodiment above. Additionally, the present inventionmay effectively be used in conjunction with systems other than the onedescribed above as the preferred embodiment. Therefore, these and othervariations upon the preferred embodiments are intended to be covered bythe present invention, which is limited only by the appended claims.

1. An apparatus that provides an output stream over a network to adisplay device, the apparatus comprising: a switcher configured tocontrol any of a plurality of different program sources responsive tocontrol information received at the apparatus from the display devicevia the network to receive selected video information from the pluralityof different program sources, wherein each of the plurality of differentprogram sources is a source of multiple simultaneously availableprograms, and wherein the control information identifies one of theplurality of different program sources and the selected videoinformation from the multiple simultaneous programs available from theidentified program source, and wherein the control information is basedupon an input received from a viewer at the display device, and whereinthe apparatus directly controls the switcher and the identified programsource of the plurality of program sources in response to the controlinformation to select and obtain the selected video information from thecontrolled program source at the switcher; a processing unit configuredto encode the selected video information, and to create a processedstream using the selected video information; a communications unitconfigured to manipulate the processed stream to produce an outputstream; and a transmitter configured to transmit the output stream tothe display device via the network.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe processed stream is a combined video stream that incorporates boththe selected video information and program information received from asecond program source.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processedstream combines the selected video information and program guideinformation received from a second program source.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein one of the program sources is a personal computer. 5.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of program sourcesis a computer system.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of theplurality of program sources is a media server.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein one of the plurality of program sources is anapplication running on a computer system.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the apparatus is configured to directly control the identifiedprogram source by providing command signals generated by the apparatusto the identified program source.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe apparatus is configured to directly control the identified programsource by providing command signals to the apparatus via a hardwiredconnection between the apparatus and the identified program source. 10.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is configured to directlycontrol the identified program source by providing command signals tothe apparatus via a control bus that connects the apparatus and theidentified program source.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theapparatus is configured to directly control the identified programsource by providing command signals to the apparatus via infraredsignals transmitted by the apparatus and received by the identifiedprogram source.
 12. A system for viewing information from a plurality ofprogram sources over a network, wherein each of the plurality of programsources is a source of multiple simultaneously-available programs, thesystem comprising: a base station configured to receive controlinformation identifying selected video programming from any of theplurality of program sources via the network, to select and directlycontrol one of the plurality of program sources that is a source of aplurality of simultaneously-available programs in response to thecontrol information received via the network to thereby select andobtain the selected video information from the selected program sourceof the plurality of program sources controlled by the base station, toencode the selected video information, to create a processed bit streamusing the selected video information, to perform a network processingprocedure on the processed bit stream to create a transmitter-readystream, and to transmit the transmitter-ready stream to the network; anda receiving device having a display, wherein the receiving device isconfigured to receive a viewer selection of the selected videoprogramming, to transmit the control information identifying theselected video programming to the base station via the network, toreceive the transmitter-ready stream over the network from the basestation, and to decode the transmitter-ready stream to produce decodedinformation for presentation on the display.
 13. The system of claim 12wherein the network is at least one of a local area network and a widearea network.
 14. The system of claim 12 wherein said receiving deviceis further configured to hide defects caused by data lost duringtransmission of the transmitter-ready stream on the network.
 15. Amethod executable by a base station to provide video informationselected by a viewer for presentation on a display device from at leastone of a plurality of program sources that is a source of multiplesimultaneously-available programs, wherein the method comprises:receiving control information from the display device via a network atthe base station, wherein the control information identifies the videoinformation selected by a viewer for presentation on the display device,and wherein the video information is one of the multiplesimultaneously-available programs available from the at least one of theplurality of program sources; responsive to the control informationreceived from the display device via the network, the base stationdirectly controlling the at least one of the plurality of the programsources from which the selected video information is available tothereby select and receive the video information selected by the viewerfrom the controlled program source at the base station; encoding thereceived video information, and creating a processed stream using thevideo information at the base station; and outputting the processedstream for transmission from the base station to the display device viathe network.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said network comprisesat least one of a local area network and a wide area network.
 17. Themethod of claim 15 further comprising combining said video informationwith program guide information to produce a combined video stream thatincludes both said video information and said program guide information.18. The method of claim 15 wherein a first one of the plurality ofprogram sources is a television tuner and a second one of the pluralityof program sources is a digital video recorder.
 19. The method of claim15 further comprising selecting, in response to the control information,the at least one of the plurality of program sources that is the sourceof the video information.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprisingselecting, in response to the control information, the video informationfrom the plurality of simultaneously-available programs available fromthe at least one of the plurality of program sources.
 21. The method ofclaim 15 wherein one of the plurality simultaneously-available programscomprises an advertisement.
 22. A method for providing a processed videostream to a display device on a network, wherein the processed videostream represents a program received from one of a plurality of programsources, the method comprising: receiving control information from thedisplay device via the network, wherein the control informationidentifies video programming selected by a viewer; processing thecontrol information received from the display device via the network bya base station to directly control the one of the plurality of programsources responsive to the control information and to thereby obtain thevideo programming selected by the viewer from a plurality of programsthat are simultaneously available from the controlled program source;receiving the video programming selected by the viewer from thecontrolled program source; encoding the video programming received fromthe controlled program source, and creating a processed video streamusing the video programming; and transmitting the processed video streamto the display device via the network.
 23. The method of claim 22wherein signals are combined from two or more program sources to producethe processed video stream as a combined video stream.
 24. The method ofclaim 22 further comprising: processing the processed video stream togenerate a transmitter-ready stream; and transmitting thetransmitter-ready stream to the network.
 25. The method of claim 24wherein the processing of the processed stream comprises performing anetwork processing procedure to generate the transmitter-ready stream.26. The method of claim 25 wherein said transmitter-ready stream ispropagated over the Internet.
 27. The method of claim 22 wherein a firstone of the plurality of program sources is a television tuner and asecond one of the plurality of program sources is a digital videorecorder.
 28. The method of claim 22 wherein one of the plurality ofprogram sources is a computer system.
 29. The method of claim 22 whereinone of the plurality of program sources is a media server.
 30. Themethod of claim 22 wherein one of the plurality of program sources is anapplication running on a computer system.
 31. The method of claim 22further comprising activating the selected program source in response tothe control information.
 32. The method of claim 22 wherein one of theplurality of programs that are simultaneously available from theselected program source comprises an advertisement.
 33. The method ofclaim 22 wherein the controlled program source is controlled bygenerating command signals that are provided to the controlled programsource.
 34. The method of claim 22 wherein the controlled program sourceis controlled by providing command signals to the controlled programsource via a hardwired connection.
 35. The method of claim 22 whereinthe controlled program source is controlled by providing command signalsto the controlled program source via a control bus.
 36. The method ofclaim 22 wherein the controlled program source is controlled byproviding infrared command signals to the controlled program source. 37.A method executable by a base station, the method comprising: receivingcontrol information from a display device at the base station via anetwork, wherein the control information identifies video informationselected by a viewer for presentation on the display device; selecting,in response to the control information, one of a plurality of programsources, wherein each of the program sources is connected to an inputport of the base station and is directly controlled by the base station,each of the input ports being configurable as a source of multiplesimultaneously-available programs; controlling the selected programsource of the plurality of program sources from the base station inresponse to the control information to thereby receive the videoinformation selected by the viewer from the multiplesimultaneously-available programs from the selected program source atthe base station; encoding the received video information and creating aprocessed stream using the video information; and outputting theprocessed stream for transmission to the display device via the network.38. The method of claim 37 further comprising processing the processedstream to generate a transmitter-ready stream and wherein thetransmitting comprises transmitting the transmitter-ready stream to thedisplay device.
 39. The method of claim 38 wherein processing theprocessed stream comprises performing a network processing procedure togenerate the transmitter-ready stream.
 40. The method of claim 37wherein a first one of the plurality of program sources is a televisiontuner and a second one of the plurality of program sources is a digitalvideo recorder.
 41. The method of claim 37 wherein one of the pluralityof program sources is a computer system.
 42. The method of claim 37wherein one of the plurality of program sources is a media server. 43.The method of claim 37 wherein one of the plurality of program sourcesis an application running on a computer system.
 44. The method of claim37 further comprising activating the selected program source in responseto the control information.
 45. The method of claim 37 wherein theselected program source is controlled by providing command signalsgenerated by the base station from the base station to the controlledprogram source.
 46. The method of claim 37 wherein the selected programsource is controlled by providing command signals to the controlledprogram source via a hardwired connection between the base station andthe controlled program source.
 47. The method of claim 37 wherein thecontrolled program source is controlled by providing command signals tothe controlled program source via a control bus that connects the basestation and the controlled program source.
 48. The method of claim 37wherein the controlled program source is controlled by transmittinginfrared command signals from the base station to the controlled programsource.
 49. A base station configured to process program informationselected by a viewer of a display system communicating with the basestation over a network, the base station comprising: a switcher coupledto at least two program sources and configured to receive, responsive tocontrol information received at the base station via the network fromthe display system, the program information selected by the viewer fromone of the at least two program sources, wherein each of the at leasttwo program sources is a source of multiple simultaneously availableprograms and wherein each of the at least two program sources isdirectly controllable by the base station to provide any of the multiplesimultaneously available programs to the switcher; a subsystem processorconfigured to receive the program information and to generate aprocessed stream from the program information; a communicationsprocessor coupled to the subsystem processor, the communicationsprocessor configured to manipulate the processed stream to produce anoutput stream for transmission; and a network interface configured tooutput the output stream for transmission over the network to a displaysystem.
 50. The base station of claim 49 wherein the communicationsprocessor is configured to perform a network processing procedure on theprocessed stream to generate the output stream in a transmitter-readyformat.
 51. The base station of claim 49 wherein a first one of theplurality of program sources is a television tuner and a second one ofthe plurality of program sources is a digital video recorder.
 52. A basestation to transmit a transmit-ready stream to a display system over anetwork, the base station comprising: a switcher coupled to each of aplurality of program sources directly controlled by the base station andconfigured to switchably receive program information from two or moreprogram sources configured as sources of multiplesimultaneously-available programs; a processor configured to receivecontrol information from the display system that identifies programinformation selected by a viewer for presentation on the display systemand to control the switcher in response to the control information toselect one of the plurality of program sources and to obtain the programinformation indicated by the control information from the selectedprogram source, to encode the program information and to generate aprocessed stream using the program information; and a network interfaceconfigured to output the processed stream over the network to thedisplay system.
 53. The base station of claim 52 further comprising atransmitter configured to provide control signals via a second networkto each of the program sources in response to the control information.54. The base station of claim 52 wherein the processor is configured toperform a network processing procedure on the processed stream togenerate the transmitter-ready stream.
 55. The base station of claim 52wherein a first one of the plurality of program sources is a televisiontuner and a second one of the plurality of program sources is a digitalvideo recorder.
 56. The base station of claim 52 wherein one of theprogram sources is a computer system.
 57. The base station of claim 52wherein one of the program sources is a media server.
 58. The basestation of claim 52 wherein one of the program sources is an applicationrunning on a computer system.
 59. The base station of claim 52 whereinthe base station is configured to directly control the selected programsource by providing command signals generated by the base station fromthe base station to the controlled program source.
 60. The base stationof claim 52 wherein the base station is configured to directly controlthe selected program source via a hardwired connection between the basestation and the selected program source.
 61. The base station of claim52 wherein the base station is configured to directly control theselected program source via a control bus that connects the base stationand the selected program source.
 62. The base station of claim 52wherein the base station is configured to directly control the selectedprogram source via infrared signals transmitted by the base station andreceived by the selected program source.
 63. A base station to provideviewer-selected programming to a display system via a network, the basestation comprising: a switcher coupled to each of a plurality of programsources and configured to switchably receive the viewer-selectedprogramming from a selected one of the plurality of program sources,wherein the selected program source is a source of multiplesimultaneously-available programs; a processor configured to receivecontrol information from the display system that identifies theviewer-selected television programming to be displayed on the displaysystem, to select and control the switcher and one of the plurality ofprogram sources in response to the control information to obtain theviewer-selected television programming identified by the controlinformation from the multiple simultaneously-available programs from theselected program source, to encode the viewer-selected televisionprogramming received from the selected program source, and to generate aprocessed stream using the viewer-selected television programming; and anetwork interface configured to output the processed stream fortransmission over the network to the display system.
 64. The basestation of claim 63 further comprising a transmitter configured toprovide control signals to each of the program sources in response tothe control information.
 65. The base station of claim 63 wherein theselected program source is an external consumer electronics device thatis connected to the base station.
 66. The base station of claim 63wherein the selected program source is a television receiver, andwherein the viewer-selected programming comprises television programsreceived from a broadcast source by the television receiver.
 67. Thebase station of claim 66 wherein the television receiver is one of thegroup consisting of a cable television decoder, a satellite televisiondecoder, and a terrestrial television receiver.
 68. The base station ofclaim 63 wherein the selected program source is a video recorder, andwherein the viewer-selected programming comprises television programsstored on the video recorder.
 69. The base station of claim 63 wherein afirst one of the plurality of program sources is a television tuner anda second one of the plurality of program sources is a digital videorecorder.
 70. The base station of claim 63 wherein a first one of theplurality of program sources is a television tuner and a second one ofthe plurality of program sources is a digital video recorder.
 71. Thebase station of claim 63 wherein one of the program sources is acomputer system.
 72. The base station of claim 63 wherein one of theprogram sources is a media server.
 73. The base station of claim 63wherein one of the program sources is an application running on acomputer system.
 74. The base station of claim 63 wherein one of theprograms simultaneously available from the selected program sourcecomprises an advertisement.
 75. A home media gateway to provideviewer-selected television programming to a display system via anetwork, the home media gateway comprising: a switcher coupled to atelevision tuner and to a digital video recorder; a processor configuredto receive control information from the display system that identifiesthe viewer-selected television programming, to control the switcher andone of the television tuner and the digital video recorder in responseto the control information to select and obtain the viewer-selectedtelevision programming identified by the control information from theone of the television tuner and the digital video recorder, to encodethe received viewer-selected television programming, and to generate aprocessed stream using the viewer-selected television programming; and anetwork interface configured to transmit the processed stream over thenetwork to the display system.
 76. The home media gateway of claim 75wherein the television tuner is tunable to receive any of a plurality ofsimultaneously-broadcast television channels, and wherein theviewer-selected television programming is a program broadcast on one ofthe simultaneously-broadcast television channels.
 77. The home mediagateway of claim 75 wherein the digital video recorder stores aplurality of stored programs, and wherein the viewer-selected televisionprogramming comprises one of the plurality of stored programs.
 78. Thehome media gateway of claim 75 wherein the television tuner is tunableto receive any of a plurality of simultaneously-broadcast televisionchannels and wherein the digital video recorder stores a plurality ofstored programs, and wherein the viewer-selected television programmingis selected from a program broadcast on one of thesimultaneously-broadcast television channels and one of the storedprograms.
 79. The home media gateway of claim 75 further comprising atransmitter configured to provide control signals to each of thetelevision tuner and the digital video recorder in response to thecontrol information.
 80. A device to provide viewer-selected televisionprogramming to a display system via a network, the device comprising: atelevision tuner configured to receive programs broadcast on any of aplurality of channels; a digital video recorder configured to store aplurality of stored programs; a switcher coupled to the television tunerand to the digital video recorder; a processor configured: to receivecontrol information from the display system that identifies theviewer-selected television programming from the programs broadcast onthe plurality of channels or from the stored programs; if theviewer-selected television programming identified in the controlinformation is one of the programs broadcast on one of the plurality ofchannels, to control the switcher to select the television tuner and tocontrol the television tuner to thereby obtain the viewer-selectedtelevision programming from the programs broadcast on one of theplurality of channels; if the viewer-selected television programmingidentified in the control information is one of the stored programs, tocontrol the switcher to select the digital video recorder and to controlthe digital video recorder to thereby obtain the viewer-selectedtelevision programming from the stored programs; and to encode theobtained viewer-selected television programming, and to generate aprocessed stream using the viewer-selected television programming; and anetwork interface configured to transmit the processed stream over thenetwork to the display system.
 81. A method to provide televisionprogramming selected by a viewer from a television tuner and a digitalvideo recorder to a display system via a network, the method comprising:receiving control information from the display system that identifiesthe viewer-selected television programming from programs broadcast on aplurality of channels obtained by the television tuner or from storedprograms on the digital video recorder; if the viewer-selectedtelevision programming identified in the control information is one ofthe programs broadcast on one of the plurality of channels, selectingand controlling the television tuner to thereby obtain theviewer-selected television programming from the programs broadcast onone of the plurality of channels; if the viewer-selected televisionprogramming identified in the control information is one of the storedprograms, selecting and controlling the digital video recorder tothereby obtain the viewer-selected television programming from thestored programs; encoding the obtained viewer-selected televisionprogramming and generating a processed stream using the viewer-selectedtelevision programming; and transmitting the processed stream over thenetwork to the display system.